Act 3- Scene 1

Act 3- Scene 1

Ophelia wants to give Hamlet back his stuff- Ophelia young "good girl"- is not trying to purposely push Hamlet's buttons

Are you honest? Are you fair?
- both have double meanings
- fair: 1) beautiful 2) are you just as in do you play by the rules
- honesty: 1) truthful 2) chastity - purity as in are you a virgin

Ophelia are you seeing someone else- Hamlet seems jealous
Those who are fair and honest do not stay honest for very long

Polonius buys the act, but Claudius doesn't

"Get thee to a nunnery"
-nunnery double meaning
1) convent: won't be around guys- so she won't have children- no chance of ruining her reputation- protected from the likes of Hamlet
2) whore house: no relationships there either- keeping the world at a distance no risk of being hurt.
*How do you protect yourself from the difficulties/pain of relationships?

*Do Hamlet and Ophelia care about each other- this is not a nice scene - violence on Hamlet's part against Ophelia
*Why is he so awful to her-how does she respond?
*Why would Hamlet treat her like this if he loved her?

-push her away to protect her from guys like me
-yes, Hamlet is angry - Polonius/Claudius/set-up/murder/Gertrude-mother betrayed him.
ALL WOMEN BETRAY- notion of time and of how Hamlet feels about women


The King's aside (before Hamlet and Ophelia talk)
images of disease- Claudius

• internal disease: don't know before it is too late

slowly kills you - spreads-spreads till it overwhelms

• king on the throne that is not the rightful king-disease at the center of the kingdom-put usurper and the corruption spreads
• can't camouflage that which is truly corrupt- the more make up - the more ugly something becomes
• the themes of make-up/whoredom/corruption all go together

ASIDE:
How smart a lash that speech doth give my conscience!
The harlot's cheek, beautied with plast'ring art,
Is not more ugly to the thing that helps it
Than is my deed to my most painted word.
O heavy burden!

• The heavy burden refers to the king's guilt- we know at this point that he is guilty of something but are unaware of what that something is
• harlot- refers to whore
• plast'ring art refers to make-up
• whores wear lots of make-up because they often contract STD's most commonly syphilis and syphilis shows up on the face to hide the disease must wear lots of make-up
• The aside is in part a response to Polonius comment:

'Tis too much proved, that with devotion's visage

And pious action we do sugar o'er

The devil himself

meaning that we do bad but for a good reason

These are the notes on act 3 scene 1

Kiera